Restitched: From The Vault | Gameplay Motif Test (Patreon)

We couldn't close out the trixel+ anniversary month without an exclusive glimpse into our Restitched development efforts!

Introducing the 'From the Vault' series. These are intended to be sporadic snippets of development finds. For example, we may update you on small side developments, or pull out old screenshots, comparisons, and unused concepts!

We're toying around with gameplay motifs and quick, experimental art passes!

A gameplay motif is basically a little slice of gameplay, and in this case, it's meant for testing purposes. An art pass is a decorative sweep over the barebones layout of the level to make it look nice.

For example, this was the blockout of the level before its art pass:

Because of the constant updates to our tools, player character, gameplay mechanics, etc., we like to stress test by building scenes and level slices that give us a better glimpse into how the final game will look and feel.

As shown above, we're conceptualizing how the first world of the game will feel. Based inside an eerie attic, we've added moody lighting, weathered objects, knickknacks, and all the things you'd expect to see in such a place!

Stuffy is meant to be introduced to basic gameplay mechanics in this theme, so we ask ourselves: how can we create easy gameplay sections that increasingly challenge the player's ability to run, jump, climb, swing, crawl, and so forth?

In this particular section, we see Stuffy pushing a toy car that can be used to get higher and reach the ledge of the wooden crate, allowing them to climb up! Afterward, we're expecting Stuffy to climb on the side of the next platform... but we're still programming that one!

The best way to test the level editor is to build full experiences with it. By building the scene you see above, we uncovered at least half a dozen bugs that were previously undetected, but urgent nonetheless!